Pueblo Police shoot, kill, kidnapping suspect after he releases infant

UPDATE: The Pueblo County Coroner has identified the deceased as 27-year-old Elijah Fowlkes.

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) - The Pueblo Police Department says that just before 8:00 p.m. on Saturday night, some of its officers were flagged down to report a domestic violence incident involving weapons. It ended with one man shot dead, and the circumstances surrounding the shooting are under investigation.

PPD says its officers were told that the male suspect was armed with a handgun, was threatening to use it against the woman inside the house, and was making additional threats to shoot anyone who came too close.

When more officers arrived on scene, they set up a perimeter around the block. Officers say they then learned about an active restraining order in place protecting the woman and their infant child from the male suspect.

After the perimeter was set up, PPD says they saw the man leave the home and try to run away from officers while carrying the child.

Police say he made it to W. 10th Street and Grand Avenue when he stopped in a parking lot and started digging around in a backpack he brought.

PPD says its officers gave him multiple commands to stop reaching into the backpack and put the infant down. PPD says the man did follow one of the commands; he put the infant in a nearby stroller, but then kept digging around in the backpack.

That's when the department says an officer fired their gun at the man, hitting him.

PPD says officers then went to check on the infant and rendered medical aid to the man who was shot. The man was transported to a local hospital, where he later died. The Pueblo County Coroner has identified the man as 27-year-old Elijah Fowlkes.

Neither the woman in the home nor the infant was physically injured.

The 10th Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team is investigating the officer-involved shooting. All officers involved in the shooting are placed on leave while the investigation plays out.

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